Stakeholders urge govt to address issues of funding in Nigeria’s creative industry – THE SUN

By Chukwuma Umeorah

Nigeria’s creative industry, particularly the film and music has become one of the Nation’s greatest exports generating revenue and attracting valuable partnerships.

However, some stakeholders have urged the government to address some of the issues hindering the sector so as to attract more investors and contribute to the economy.

The Founder/CEO of Consonance Investment Managers, an Africa-focused venture capital firm, Mobolaji Adeoye while speaking at the 2023 edition of the Africa Creative Market (ACM) which started on Friday identified some of the critical issues affecting the creative industry to include Lack of access to capital, poor infrastructure, inadequate capacity building and training programmes among others. 

According to him, these factors were hindering new investors from funding the creative space. “The business of financing is all about building trust and understanding the risks. Investors want to be sure that when they put their money into a project, whether it be a movie, fashion, music, they can realise their capital and get good return on investments. The government needs to put in conscious efforts at making the local markets more viable for the promotion of Nigerian contents because that is how investors get their money back.

He emphasized that the health of the creative sector can either make or break a nation and there was need for more collaboration from public and private sector to strengthen and sustain the industry. “It is the custodian of the narratives that tells the Nigerian story. We urge the government to put policies in place to make it easier for young creatives to get into the space, provide adequate infrastructure including sufficient power supply and training facilities where creatives can hone their skills while learning how to make that talent more commercially viable. Now that Nigerian and African content is becoming global, we have to also be able to protect our interest.”

Adeoye who is an investment expert, also noted that to address the issue of access to capital for producers or creators in the industry, the government could come up with grants or an easy repayable loan scheme.

On her part, the founder of ACM, Inya Lawal, identified issues around intellectual property rights as another critical problem that needed to be addressed. According to her, the 2023 edition of the African Creative Market is focused on safeguarding intellectual property rights of entrepreneurs and creators and leveraging the power of technology in improving the nation’s creative industry. 

She highlighted key collaboration with the National Infromation Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in achieving the goals. “Our mission is to empower creatives to scale by providing a blueprint for establishing commercially viable and sustainable business models. Our platform offers a wide range of opportunities and support for creatives in the region, including training programmes, investment opportunities, and access to trade finance. 

The 2023 edition of the ACM was supported by organizations such as Paramount Africa, MTVBase, U.S Consulate General Lagos and attracted key players from across the globe. Some key areas in the sector that was covered by speakers at the event include film/TV, music, fashion, and dance, as well as sub-sectors like advertising, games, cultural education, edutainment, photography among others.